hay

1 of 2

noun

ˈhā How to pronounce hay (audio)
Synonyms of haynext
1
: herbage and especially grass mowed and cured for fodder
2
: reward
3
slang : bed
ready to hit the hay
4
: a small sum of money
… a saving of … $14 million is not hay.—H. C. Schonberg
see also:
hit the hay make hay

hay

2 of 2

verb

hayed; haying; hays

intransitive verb

: to cut, cure, and store hay

transitive verb

: to feed with hay

Synonyms of hay

Relevance

Noun

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of hay in a Sentence

Noun their credit card debt isn't hay—it'll take years to pay it off dragging myself out of the hay on such a cold, dreary morning seemed like an act of sheer masochism
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Visitors can purchase pumpkins, visit the Halloween store, bar and bakery, and enjoy the outdoor playground, petting zoo and hay maze. — Sophie Caldwell, CNBC, 17 Oct. 2026 Other natural materials, such as gourds, hay, and cornstalks make for festive decor, but Wells suggests choosing materials from your local area to reduce the risk of introducing invasive plants or seeds. — Katie Koschalk, Scientific American, 16 Oct. 2026
Verb
Since then, the town has preserved the farm as open space while leasing portions of it to local farmers for haying. — Tran Chau, Hartford Courant, 7 Aug. 2026 As part of that contract, and to maintain high-quality habitat, participating landowners can’t graze or hay the acreage during those five years. — Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 16 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for hay

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English hey, from Old English hīeg; akin to Old High German hewi hay, Old English hēawan to hew

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1535, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of hay was before the 12th century

Phrases Containing hay

Rhymes for hay

See All Rhymes for hay

Browse Nearby Words

haw tree
hay
Hay
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hay.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hay. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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Kids Definition

hay

1 of 2 noun
ˈhā How to pronounce hay (audio)
: herbs (as grasses) cut and dried for use as fodder

hay

2 of 2 verb
1
: to cut, cure, and store plants for hay
2
: to feed with hay

Geographical Definition

Hay

geographical name

ˈhā How to pronounce Hay (audio)
river 530 miles (853 kilometers) long in northern Alberta and the southern Northwest Territories, Canada, flowing northeast into Great Slave Lake

Biographical Definition

Hay

biographical name

ˈhā How to pronounce Hay (audio)
John Milton 1838–1905 American statesman

More from Merriam-Webster on hay

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about hay

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